Ted Rosnagle. The name won’t go away. It pops into my head every few years and grates on me like a cleat to the ribs.
You don’t know who Ted Rosnagle is. And you shouldn’t, although he did play parts of two seasons in the NFL.
Ted Rosnagle, a free agent defensive back out of Portland State, did something for which I’ll never forgive him. He had the gall to wear a No. 28 jersey. For the Minnesota Vikings.
A jersey once worn by Ahmad Rashad. Forever No. 28. And my favorite player.
I know what you’re saying: get over it. That was, after all, 19 years ago, and five other Vikings have since worn that jersey. But I was an impressionable 14-year-old kid living in suburban Minneapolis who never thought the No. 28 would be worn by a Viking again.
The truth is, I’d pushed Ted Rosnagle’s name to the back of my mind in recent years. I am, after all, a sports writer now, and not so much a sports fan.
But then Jerry Rice came to Seattle this week, and suddenly the name Ted Rosnagle popped into my head again.
Now let’s get one thing straight. Ted Rosnagle is no Jerry Rice. Might well be the polar opposite, in fact. The guy played in nine games and made seven tackles. Rice has been known to avoid seven tackles during many of his 194 touchdown receptions.
But to me, Rosnagle’s got everything in common with Rice. They both had the audacity to wear the jersey of a legend.
Rice’s decision to take No. 80 off the Seattle Seahawks’ rafters this week seems to have left a sour taste in some fans’ mouths. That was supposed to forever be the jersey of Steve Largent, Mr. Seahawk. No one else would ever wear the Seahawks’ No. 80 in a game again.
And then along came Jerry, a living legend in his own right. Rice said he was going to wear the jersey to “honor” Largent, and after a call set up by team president Bob Whitsitt, Largent agreed.
“I’m a big fan of Jerry Rice, and we’ve been friends for years, so I’m honored that he would wear my number,” Largent told me in a phone call Thursday. “Any outrage (from the fans) is appreciated, but unnecessary.”
You’d think that would be the end of it. But fans have been grousing about Jerseygate all week long. One reader sent me a well-thought-out, well-versed critique of the decision that was best summed up in its title: “Rice No. 80?! Hell no!!!”
Fans can be a passionate bunch, yes. But I have to admit that I can identify. I still haven’t forgiven a football minion named Ted Rosnagle.
So I decided to give him a call. And, imagine this, I actually liked the guy. I told him my beef with him, and he just chuckled.
“No one ever gave me any gruff about it,” he said of being the first to wear Rashad’s number. “You must have been a big fan.”
It turns out that Rosnagle didn’t even know he was wearing Rashad’s number until midway through the 1985 season. He was an undrafted rookie who had already gone through camps in the Canadian Football League and with the Seahawks – Largent and the veterans arrived to Cheney after Rosnagle got cut – before hooking up with the Vikings in the summer of 1985.
As the only undrafted rookie to make Minnesota’s team, Rosnagle had no choice on which jersey to wear. The team trainer gave him No. 28, and he never thought twice about it.
Midway through Rosnagle’s rookie year in 1985, the Vikings honored an anniversary team that included Rashad. Only then did the rookie from Portland State realize he wore a legendary number.
“I was surprised,” said Rosnagle, now a 43-year-old air freight employee who also coaches his son’s Pop Warner team in Southern California. “Back then, they didn’t really retire numbers like they do now.”
It turns out that now they also unretire numbers. Just not for guys like Ted Rosnagle. And much to the chagrin of people like me.
Seahawks at Cardinals
Kickoff: 1:15 p.m. Sunday
TV: Fox (Ch. 13)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks – QB Matt Hasselbeck had thrown touchdown passes in seven consecutive games until he was held without a TD throw last weekend. RB Shaun Alexander leads the NFC in touchdowns (8) and ranks fourth in rushing (459). WR Darrell Jackson needs four receptions to tie Joey Galloway for fourth place on the Seahawks’ all-time receiving list. CB Ken Lucas and S Michael Boulware are tied for the NFC lead with three interceptions.
Cardinals – RB Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, ranks 10th in the NFC this season with 353 yards. WR Larry Fitzgerald, the third overall pick in the April draft, leads the Cardinals in receptions (22). DE Bertrand Berry has four sacks. S Adrian Wilson leads the team with 29 tackles.
Breaking down the game: The Seahawks looked like they would cruise to a victory in this one, but now things don’t seem so certain. Injuries to Grant Wistrom and Anthony Simmons have left Seattle’s defense in peril.
If they were facing Emmitt Smith in his prime, perhaps the Seahawks would be in trouble. But an aging Smith, a young quarterback and the loss of Arizona wideout Anquan Boldin give Arizona the kind of attack that even Seattle’s hobbled bunch can contain.
Pick: Seahawks, 31-20.
Injury report: Seahawks LB Anthony Simmons (left shoulder) and DE Grant Wistrom (left knee) are out. LB Chad Brown (left fibula) is doubtful. P Tom Rouen (hamstring), WR Bobby Engram (left ankle) and T Chris Terry (shoulder) are questionable. T Sean Locklear (illness) and DT Rashad Moore (left shoulder) are probable.
Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin (knee) and RB Josh Scobey (knee) are out. WR Nate Poole (ankle) is questionable. LB James Darling (calf), DT Ross Kolodziej (ankle) and CB Duane Starks (shoulder) are probable.
Little-known fact: Although the Cardinals have won only one of their first five games, they have scored as many points as they have allowed (87).
Other NFL games
N.Y. Jets (5-0) at New England (5-0), Sunday, 10 a.m.: Much like the Seahawks could have last week, the Jets can show if they’re among the teams to beat. Much like the Seahawks did last week, the Jets won’t show enough. Pick: Patriots, 24-16.
Jacksonville (4-2) at Indianapolis (4-1), Sunday, 10 a.m.: No disrespect to what Peyton Manning has done (an eye-popping 114.1 QB rating), but don’t the Colts have to eventually stop someone to keep on winning? The Jags represent a perfect opportunity for Indy’s D to get well. Manning, meanwhile, should keep on rolling. Pick: Colts, 28-13.
Philadelphia (5-0) at Cleveland (3-3), Sunday, 10 a.m.: The Owens vs. Garcia show is bigger than just some bickering between former teammates. The Browns are a house or cards waiting to fall, and a win over the Eagles could really solidify their spot as a playoff contender. Pick: Browns, 20-17.
Scott M. Johnson is The Herald’s pro football writer.
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